Torah Tidbits Issue 1344 - 26/10/19

ISSUE 1344 OCT 26TH '19

‫כ"ז תשרי תש"פ‬

‫פרשת בראשית‬

PARSHAT BERESHIT - SHABBAT MEVARCHIM

THE TREE SHOULD ALSO BE TASTY

by Sivan Rahav-Meir see page 72

"FINDING THE HOLY FIRE" The life and legacy of the Piaseczna Rebbe

October 30th see page 37 for details

,‫אׁשית‬ ִ ‫"ּב ֵר‬ ְ "‫ֹלקים‬ִ ‫ָּב ָרא ֱא‬

YERUSHALAYIM IN/OUT IN/OUT TIMES TIMES FOR FOR SHABBAT SHABBAT PARSHAT PARSHAT SHOFTIM BERESHIT YERUSHALAYIM Candles 5:21PM

| Havdala 6:33PM | Rabbeinu Tam 7:13PM Candles 6:22PM Plag 5:39PM Havdala 7:33PM Rabeinu Tam 8:13PM

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PARSHAPIX

PPexplanations on p.68 and at www.ttidbits.com Click on the PPW link

WORD OF THE MONTH Rosh Chodesh Marcheshvan (Cheshvan is a mistaken shortening of the name; MAR is not a prefix and it doesn’t mean Mr. Cheshvan or Bitter Cheshvan) is Tuesday & Wednesday, October 29 & 30.

.‫טוֹבה‬ ָ ‫יעי ַהבָּא ָע ֵלינוּ ְל‬ ִ ‫וּביוֹם ְר ִב‬ ְ ‫שׁוָן י ְִהיֶה בְּיוֹם שׁ ְִלישִׁי‬ ְ ‫חוֹדשׁ ַמ ְר ֶח‬ ֶ ‫רֹאשׁ‬

The molad is Monday, Oct. 28th 18h 34m 6p • 6:13pm Israel Winter Time

.)‫ָע ֶרב‬ ֶ ‫ֲרי שֵׁשׁ (בּ‬ ֵ ‫ְא ְרבָּע ַדקוֹת ְושִׁשָׁה ַח ָל ִקים ַאח‬ ַ ‫ שְׁלֹשִׁים ו‬,‫מוֹלד י ְִהיֶה ֵליל שׁ ְִלישִׁי‬ ַ ‫ַה‬

The actual (astronomic) molad (a.k.a. New Moon) is Mon 5:38am 2

TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

OTHER Z'MANIM

CANDLE LIGHTING A N D H AV DA L A T I M ES

JERUSALEM CANDLES

5:21 5:39 5:37 5:37 5:37 5:37 5:37 5:36 5:38 5:21 5:36 5:26 5:35 5:36 5:36 5:37 5:39 5:38 5:24 5:33

BERESHIT

Yerushalayim / Maale Adumim Aza area (Netivot, S’deirot, Bet al)

Beit Shemesh / RBS Gush Etzion Raanana/ Tel Mond/ Herzliya/ K. Saba

Modi’in / Chashmona’im Netanya Be’er Sheva Rehovot Petach Tikva Ginot Shomron Haifa / Zichron Gush Shiloh Tel Aviv / Giv’at Shmuel Giv’at Ze’ev Chevron / Kiryat Arba Ashkelon Yad Binyamin Tzfat / Bik’at HaYarden Golan

HAVDALA

6:33 6:36 6:34 6:33 6:34 6:34 6:34 6:35 6:34 6:34 6:33 6:33 6:32 6:34 6:33 6:34 6:36 6:34 6:30 6:30

NOACH 4:15 5:27 4:33 5:30 4:31 5:28 4:30 5:27 4:30 5:28 4:30 5:28 4:30 5:28 4:30 5:29 4:31 5:28 4:15 5:28 4:29 5:27 4:19 5:27 4:29 5:26 4:29 5:28 4:30 5:27 4:30 5:28 4:32 5:30 4:31 5:28 4:17 5:24 4:26 5:24

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RANGES ARE 11 DAYS, WED-SHABBAT 24 TISHREI - 4 MARCHESHVAN (OCT 23- NOV 2) FOR 24 - 27 TISHREI, ADD 1 HR. Earliest Talit & T’filin Sunrise Sof Z’man K’ Sh’ma

4:57-5:05am 5:48-5:56am 8:35-9:03am

Sof Z’man T’fila

9:31-9:33am

(Magen Avraham: 7:59-8:02am) (Magen Avraham: 9:01-9:03am)

Chatzot(Halachic noon) Mincha Gedola (Earliest Mincha) Plag Mincha Sunset (counting elevation)

(based on sea level: 4:58½-4:49pm)

11:23½-11:23am 11:54-11:53am 3:49-3:41pm 5:03½-4:54pm

Seymour J. AbramsOrthodox Union Jerusalem World CenterAvrom Silver Jerusalem College for AdultsWolinetz Family ShulMakom BaLevBirthrightYachadNCSY in IsraelJLIC in IsraelPearl & Harold M. Jacobs ZULA Outreach CenterThe Jack Gindi Oraita ProgramOU Israel Kashrut

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 06 16 20 26 28 30 32 40 46 48

Aliya by Aliya Phil Chernofsky

"Creation Conversation" Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb The Genesis of Love Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Probing the Prophets Rabbi Nachman Winkler Multiple Levels of Truth Rabbi Shalom Rosner

Entering Gan Eden Rebbetzin Shira Smiles Bereishit: The Book of Aliveness Rabbi Judah Mischel OU ISRAEL CENTER SCHEDULE Simchat Shmuel Rabbi Sam Shor The Torah Begins with the Letter 'Bet' Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider

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TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

54 56 58 60 62 64 70 72 74

Divrei Menachem Menachem Persoff Personal Thanks in Shemoneh Esrei Rav Daniel Mann, Eretz Chemda Shabbat and Illness Rabbi Gideon Weitzman, Machon Puah Sprouting seeds...

Rabbi Moshe Bloom Bereshit Rabbi Berel Wein Bereishit & the 'Start-Up Nation' Rabbi Shimshon Hakohen Nadel

Did G-d "NEED" Creation?

Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher The Tree Should Also Be Tasty Sivan Rahav-Meir Ordinary or Extraordinary?

Rabbi Shmuel Goldin

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BERESHIT

ALIYA-BY-ALIYA SEDRA SUMMARY [P> X:Y (Z)] and [S> X:Y (Z)] indicate start of a parsha p’tucha or s’tuma. X:Y is Perek:Pasuk of the Parsha’s beginning;

STATS

(Z) is the number of p’sukim in the parsha.

1st of the 54 sedras; 1st of 12 in B'reishit

Numbers in [brackets] are the Mitzva-

Written on 241 lines in a Torah, rank 9th

count of Sefer HaChinuch AND Rambam’s

23 Parshiyot; 10 open, 13 closed, rank: 6

L=LAV (prohibition). X:Y is the perek and

146 p'sukim - rank: 8th (5th in B'reishit), same as Mikeitz; but Miketz is longer in lines, words, letters 1931 words - ranks 8 (5th in B'reishit) 7235 letters - ranks 11 (5th in B'reishit)

MITZVOT One (positive) mitzva in B'reishit - viz.

Be fruitful...

Sefer HaMitzvot. A=ASEI (positive mitzva); pasuk from which the mitzva comes.

KOHEN - FIRST ALIYA 34 P’SUKIM - 1:1-2:3 This Aliya contains the first account of Creation. We read it on Simchat Torah for Chatan B’reishit.

[P>1:1 (5)] The first parsha contains the “summary” statement of Creation and the account of Day One. Baal HaTurim points out that the Gimatriya of B’REISHIT BARA is 1116, as is the numeric value of the phrase: B’ROSH HASHANA NIV’RA - on RH it (the world) was created. Furthermore, the letters of B’reishit rearrange to spell ALEF B’TISHREI, the first of the month of Tishrei (or B’ALEF TISHREI - on the first of Tishrei - same thing), “confirming” the opinion that the world was created in Tishrei (R. Eliezer), rather than in Nissan, as the other opinion holds (R.

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TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

Yehoshua). If we could prove things with Gimatriyas and anagrams, then R. Eliezer would “win” the dispute, but as it is, the dispute as to when the world was created remains a dispute - and halachically, it leans towards Nissan.

“In the beginning, G-d created the Heavens and the Earth. And the Earth...”

Did that happen on day 1 of Creation?

Or is something before Day 1 being described? See T4 (Torah Tidbits This ‘n That), further “And G-d said: Let there be light...”

Thus begins the Torah’s description of Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And what happened on those days? G-d put everything in order, distinguished one thing from another. It was creation of Something from Something. YEISH MI’YEISH. Forming, shaping. The kind of Creation that we can and should emulate in our lives.

And how long was one of these days of Creation? Maybe they each were a thousand years long. Or an eon. Or maybe they each were 24 hours long.

Either that Torah talks “our language” or not. Take your pick. Either way fits (because there was a super-fast- forward on each day so that which would take long periods of time to develop naturally could fit into a day as we know it).

Shabbat B’reishit is a time of rediscovery and re-creation. Just like on Pesach and Shavuot when we read of the events of Egyptian slavery and the Exodus on the one and the events of Matan Torah on the other, and we try to OU ISRAEL CENTER

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put ourselves into the events, to make them fresh, as if today we came out of Egypt, as if the Torah were given today, so too should we enthusiastically read and hear the description of Creation and put ourselves into the position of discovering G-d through the world and nature that He brought into existence for us. Don’t just see things as “once upon a time...”

-- get excited, because G-d “renews with His Goodness, every day and always, the Acts of B’reishit”.

Without going into detail, here is a breakdown of the first Aliya for your consideration.

2 p’sukim, as mentioned above, for the first phase of creation. Not- withstanding the argument above that broke these two p’sukim off of the description of the first day (so to speak), they are part of the first PARSHA, together with the creation of Light, etc. Which might support other “understandings” of the “process” of Creation.

3 p’sukim for Day 1, the creation of light, the separation of light and darkness, and their being identified as day and night. One KI TOV. The day is called YOM ECHAD (cardinal number) rather than RISHON (ordinal number), because RISHON has meaning only if there is a SHENI, which there wasn’t yet.

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TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

[P>1:6 (3)] The next parsha is for the Second Day of Creation. The creation of the Heavens and the separation of the Upper and Lower waters. (Some say that angels and various forces were created on the 2nd day too.) Notably absent from the second day is KI TOV. One explanation is that the separation of the waters was not completed until the third day when water was further separated from land.

[P>1:9 (5)] The next parsha contains the Third day of Creation which consists of two “sections”. First, two p’sukim for the “gathering of the lower waters” into different areas and the formation of dry land. And the “naming” of Land and Seas.

KI TOV. And then the Divine command to the Land to spring forth with vegetation.

3 p’sukim with another KI TOV introduce us to the Plant Kingdom.

[P>1:14 (6)] Next we find the account of Creation on the fourth day. The Sun, Moon and stars (and other “heavenly bodies”) are placed in their appointed positions and orbits. KI TOV. Interesting to note that the Sun and the Moon are called the Great Luminaries and in the same pasuk, it is the Sun that keeps the title and the Moon is called the Me’or HaKatan, the small luminary. Aside from the Midrashic explanations, there is an important physical observation to

note. Comparing the Sun and the Moon, we find that the Sun has a diameter 400 times greater than the Moon. If that doesn’t sound that impressive, look at it this way: 64,000,000 Moons would fit into the Sun. From this perspective, the Sun is certainly the Me’or HaGadol to the Moon’s Me’or HaKatan.

But look at things another way. Because the Sun is approx. 400 times more distant from the Earth as is the Moon, the Sun and the Moon appear to us as the same size. If you have seen the Sun through a cloud or during a dust storm, the Sun looked very much like a full Moon. In fact, during a total solar eclipse the Moon will often cover the disk of the Sun as if they were a matched set. No other heavenly body - star or planet - appears to us as more than a point of light (to the naked eye). As such, they (sun & moon) are the Me’orot HaG’dolim. Sometimes it is actual size that matters, but sometimes it is how we perceive things that is significant.

[P>1:20 (4)] Next comes the Fifth Day, with its account of Animal Kingdom, part one. Swarming insects, fish, birds.

KI TOV. And P’RU URVU. [P>1:24 (8)] Next comes the largest parsha yet, with the formation of Animal Kingdom, part two. Land animals (most mam- mals). “Creepy things” probably includes most reptiles as well.

Fifth day creatures and sixth day creatures do not necessarily divide along modern biology’s taxonomic guidelines.

For example, dolphins and bears are both mammals (and NFL teams), but aquatic OU ISRAEL CENTER

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mammals were (probably) created on the fifth day. The bat, although a mammal, (probably) preceded the mouse by a day.

What about flightless birds? And mammals that spend much time in the water, but do come onto land at times? Good questions (not necessarily practical ones, but...). One KI TOV. Then comes the formation of human beings, first as a single being both male and female and then separated into two different beings, male and female (but with some “crossing” of character- istics). P’RU URVU [1,A212 1:28], which will combine them once again (in a sense). TOV ME’OD. THE sixth day. YOM HASHISHI. [P>2:1 (3)] This relatively long first Aliya concludes with the 3-pasuk parsha introducing us to Shabbat B’reishit, the day that G-d blessed and sancified because He “rested” from Creation on that day. We say this parsha in the Friday night Amida, right after the Friday night Amida, and at the Friday night table as the first part of Kiddush. This should tell us how important it is that we learn well (as best as we can) the Torah’s account of Creation.

And that’s without the details...

LEVI - SECOND ALIYA 16 P’SUKIM - 2:4-19 [P>2:4 (37)] Now we have a restatement of Creation, focusing on Gan Eden, the formation of Adam, Adam’s dominance over Nature, and his first prohibition eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil.

“It is not good that man shall be alone” is explained in different ways, including that only G-d is singular. Man needs to know that as great as he can become, as much as he can accomplish, he is not a god.

All creatures were brought before Adam as “candidates” for partner- to-Adam.

None was found suitable, but Adam named them all (as people have done throughout the ages).

In the first account of Creation, Man was the final act of Creation, but not so much the purpose and focus of creation. In this second account, Man is presented as the focus of creation.

We must see things both ways in

Mazal Tov to Tova and Yehuda Levinson and family on the engagement of their son Ben Tzion to Yael Yaakobovitz, daughter of HaRav Eyal and Nechama Yaakobovitz Rabbi Avi Berman and the OU Israel Family 10

TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

order to maintain a healthy perspective on this world, our role in it, and our responsibilities towards it and all elements of nature.

To paraphrase a famous saying: A person should write the following on two pieces of paper, fold each one, and put one in his left pocket and one in his right pocket. One should say: For me the whole world was created. The other should say: A mosquito was created before I was.

SHLISHI - THIRD ALIYA 27 P’SUKIM - 2:20-3:21 The Torah’s wording implies that Adam was first created as a com- bined male-female being, then (still on Day Six) he was physically separated as Adam and Chava, with the command and challenge of recombining spiritually, emo- tionally, and physically - “and they shall become one flesh”.

Next the Torah tells us cryptically of the episodes of the Serpent’s enticement of Chava, the eating from the Tree, the punishments for the Serpent, Chava, and finally, Adam.

The sin(s) of Adam and Chava are not just personal sins, but more significantly, they help us define and understand (some of) human nature. It’s almost like asking, “How could they have done what they did!?! And the answer is, “that’s how humans behave.” Yes, it was a sin, but for OU ISRAEL CENTER

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us, it’s more and different.

[S>3:16 (1)] This 1-pasuk parsha consists of G-d’s “punishment” (call it “redefining”) of Chava (woman-kind).

[S>3:17 (5)] And this parsha consists of Adam’s “punishment” (same other possibility) and G-d’s act of Chesed, in clothing the naked. This act is one of the many pointed to in our challenge to emulate the qualities of G-d It is interesting to note that the “story” parts of Shlishi and most of R’vi’i are part of one large parsha, but G-d’s statements to Adam and Chava, and His kindness to them are slightly isolated in the form of two parshiyot S’tumot, thus calling specific attention to them and the lessons we learn from them.

R’VI’I - FOURTH ALIYA 21 P’SUKIM - 3:22-4:18 [P>3:22 (3)] This Aliya begins with the expulsion from Gan Eden, which is also seen as a metaphor for a re-definition of the role of humans in this world and of their (our) relationship with G-d.

[S>4:1 (26)] The Torah continues with the “births” of Kayin and Hevel and Kayin’s killing of Hevel following the attempt of each to make an offering before G-d.

Kayin’s response to G-d’s query as to where Hevel was, echoes in our collective Jewish Experience through all the 12

TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

generations: HASHOMEIR ACHI ANOCHI? Am I my brother’s keeper? Kayin said it to shirk his responsibility for his brother. We are constantly chal- lenged to be the kind of human and Jew who knows very well that we ARE responsible for each other.

Kayin’s punishment and presented, as is his lineage.

fate

is

It is possible that Kayin sired different species of humanoids. This is how some want to explain the evidence of the existence of pre-historic man. Kayin’s whole line was destroyed in the Flood.

(Almost, that is. See further)

CHAMISHI - 5TH ALIYA 8 P’SUKIM - 4:19-26 This portion contains the story of Lemech, the great-great-great- grandson of Kayin and his accidental killer.

Lemech’s two wives were Ada and Tzila.

The Torah mentions more descen- dants of Kayin and their roles as the “firsts” in various fields of human activity. Yaval (son of Lemech and Ada) was the “first” tent-dwelling animal raiser. His brother Yuval was a musician. Tuval-Kayin (son of Tzila) worked with iron and copper.

His sister was Na’ama.

Rashi (quoting B’reishit Rabba) says that she was the wife of No’ach. What is significant about that is that Kayin’s line was not completely severed by the Flood.

Although we refer to all of mankind as Bnei No’ach, who descended from Adam through Sheit, on the mother’s side there is Na’ama and before her, Kayin.

This portion also contains Lemech’s lament for having killed Kayin. (Rashi adds that Lemech also killed his son Tuval-Kayin (accidentally, in his grief), because he (TK) directed the blind Lemech’s hands with bow and arrow to kill what he thought was an animal, and turned out to be Kayin.

By the way, in case your Chumash does not have the same Aliya breakdown as is presented here, don’t worry. There are different versions.

SHISHI - SIXTH ALIYA 24 P’SUKIM - 5:1-24 The lineage from Adam through Sheit (Seth) to No’ach (into the next Aliya) is set down, with the age of the father at the birth of the son, and each person’s age at his death. These numbers help us construct the first part of our timeline.

Although many sons and daughters are born to this list of patriarchs of the world, only one representative of each generation is named. Some say that only the named individual had the longevity that is recorded; the “average man and woman in the street” lived much shorter lives. Others say that the lifespan of the human was generally much longer before the Flood.

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[S>5:1 (5)] This is the Book of the Chronicles of Mankind... Adam and Chava were created. Adam was 130 years old when Sheit was born. He lived another 800 years after Sheit was born, during which time he fathered many sons and daughters.

He lived 930 years and then he died.

The wording seems strange, but is repeated with each generation.

[S>5:6 (3)] Sheit was 105 when Enosh was born. He lived another 807 years for a total of 912. Sons and daughters. And he died.

[S>5:9 (3)] Enosh, 90, Keinan + 815 = 905...

[S>5:12 (3)] Keinan, 70, Mahalal’eil, + 840 = 910...

[S>5:15 (3)] Mahalal’eil, 65, Yered, + 830 = 895...

[S>5:18 (3)] Yered, 162, Cha- noch, + 800 = 962... (Yered is the Avis, K2, Buzz Aldrin... of longevity.)

[S>5:21 (4)] Chanoch, 65, M’tushelach, + 300 = 365...

Shishi concludes with mention of Chanoch, who was taken from this world (possibly not by death - according to Tradition) at the relatively young age of 365.

SH’VII - SEVENTH ALIYA 16 P’SUKIM - 5:25-6:8 [S>5:25 (3)] M’tushelach, 187, Lemech, + 782 = 969, the oldest age recorded in the Tanach. According to Tradition, he died immediately prior to the Flood, which was held up for 7 days of mourning for him.

[S>5:28 (4)] Lemech 182, a son. He named him No’ach (note the different wording for the birth of No’ach)... + 595 = 777.

[S>5:32 (5)] No’ach, 500 (note how much older than previous generations), Sheim, Cham, Yefet.

The Torah now describes deterioration of society...

the

[P>6:5 (4)] and G-d’s “regret” for having created Man, His decision to destroy the world (almost). No’ach alone found favor in G-d’s eyes. Stay tuned for the continuation, next week. Last 4 pasukim are Maftir.

HAFTARA - 31 P’SUKIM YESHAYAHU 42:5-43:10 [From the Stone Chumash - ArtScroll] The sedra begins with the story of Creation and the august role of man in

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TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

bringing G-d’s goal to fruition; of his downfall and G-d’s mercy in allowing him a new life in which he could redeem himself.

The haftara’s theme is similar.

Creation is not a phenomenon that took place in primeveal times and then was left to proceed of its own inertia.

The first verse of the haftara speaks of Creation in the present tense, because G-d must renew it constantly... His purpose is for Israel to guide mankind to His service; to bring the people to the covenant, to be a light to the nations...

But Israel falters. It sins, and G-d allows it to be plundered as a result of its failure. The downfall is not permanent... G-d remains vigilant and seeks the opportunity to restore Israel eminence...

Ultimately Israel always bears witness to G-d’s greatness, His mercy, and the fulfillment of His prohecies - and because it does, it will be redeemed and be the instrument for the triumph of the spirit.

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RABBI DR. TZVI HERSH WEINREB THE PERSON BY OU Executive Vice President, Emeritus IN THE PARSHA

“Creation Conversation”

A

nyone who has ever taught anything can confirm the adage of our Sages: "I have learned from all my teachers, but I have learned most from my pupils."

It is especially true that one learns a great deal from his students if he does not limit himself to lecturing to them, but rather engages in face-to-face conversation with them. It is in candid and interactive dialogue that one learns most from his students.

The immense value of simple conversation between teacher and student was brought home to me many years ago in a conversation I had with two very different students.

They both attended a series of lectures I gave for individuals with very little prior exposure to the Jewish religion and its teachings. One of them was almost exclusively interested in what he called, "the rules and regulations" of Judaism.

The other was far less interested in Jewish law. He was more of the "spiritual" type and had a plethora of questions about the nature of God. 16

TORAH TIDBITS / BERESHIT 5780

The first individual, let›s call him Rick, was interested in a meaningful way of life.

He wanted to be part of a congregation, to celebrate the holidays, and to learn how to live daily life as a Jew. The other student, let›s call him Seth, was consumed by questions of cosmology and the origins of the universe. He saw God as an almost impersonal force behind nature. He wanted a relationship with God but questioned whether that was at all possible.

Both students had in common an interest in engaging me, their teacher, in conversation after class. Usually, those conversations took place in the local kosher pizza shop.

I vividly recall the evening I gave a lecture on the opening chapter of the book of Genesis, which is, of course, the beginning of this week›s Torah portion (Genesis 1:1-6:5). Rick and Seth appeared equally eager to corner me in the pizza shop after that lecture.

Rick began the conversation by firmly questioning why the Torah even bothered to give us details about the creation of the world and God›s role in it. "As a Jew," he maintained, "I just need to know how to live my life. How to celebrate the holidays, what food is kosher and what is not, and what is right and wrong in the spheres

of ethics and morality. I can satisfy my curiosity about the origins of the universe by consulting some scientific book on the matter. For me, this has nothing to do with religion."

Seth, sitting across the table, was absolutely astounded. "What?!" he exclaimed. "This opening chapter of Genesis is precisely what I need to know as I begin my exploration of Judaism. I need to know about God, from beginning to end. And this is His beginning."

I was fascinated by this conversation, because it helped me put into a new perspective the conflicting opinions of two of the greatest rabbinic commentators on the Bible, Rashi and Ramban.

Rashi, in the very first words of his magisterial commentary on the entire Pentateuch, asks the same question that was bothering Rick.

Rashi, whose actual name was Solomon the son of Isaac, begins by quoting a Rabbi Isaac, who some have maintained was none other than his own father. He avers that the Torah should have begun with the chapter in the later book of Exodus, which outlines the mitzvot which Jews were supposed to fulfill. Rashi struggles to find a reason for the Torahâ&#x20AC;şs description of creation and the detailed narratives of early human history.

"Rick," I was able to say, "your question was anticipated many centuries ago by a great man whom you never heard of."

I continued to introduce him to the man who was Rashi and to his indispensable OU ISRAEL CENTER

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commentary. Rick was gratified that Rashi too seemed to conceive of the Torah as primarily a book of "rules and regulations," so that he felt compelled to seek a reason for its beginning with an account of the creation.

Seth was obviously hard put to restrain himself. But before he began to protest against Rick, and against Rashi, I attempted to placate him. "There was another great rabbinic commentator on the Bible," I explained. "His name was Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman. Some call him Nachmanides. Traditionally, we call him Ramban and consider him second only to Rashi as a rabbinic commentator."

I told Seth, and Rick who was listening reluctantly, that Ramban in his opening paragraph of his commentary on Genesis 1:1, contests Rashiâ&#x20AC;şs very question. "Of course," he asserts, "the Torah had to begin with a description of the creation.

That is the root of our faith, so anyone who believes that the world always existed but was not created by the Almighty at one specific moment in time has no share in the Torah at all."

Rick and Seth were gratified to discover that their differing views on what was important in Judaism had precedents in the writings of two great medieval rabbis.

I hastened to disappoint them. I told

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them that it was incorrect to conceive of two mutually exclusive definitions of Judaism. It was not a matter of a "rulesbased" religion versus a "God-based" one.

I quoted to them the marvelous passage in the writings of Maimonides in which he speaks of the mitzvah to love God, and he explains that there are two ways to achieve this. One way is by studying His Torah and its laws, and the other way is by contemplating His astonishing creation, the world of nature.

"I understand everything you said, but something is missing. Vu iz der Bashefer?

Where is the Creator?"

I admonished them to carefully avoid reducing our faith to one or the other conception. "Our faith is not a simplistic one," I argued. "As you proceed in your study of Judaism in general, and of the Five Books of Moses in particular, you will come to realize that our religion emphasizes that our God is both Creator and Lawgiver. Any conception of Him as one but not the other is not authentic Judaism."

I

thanked

them

for

once

again

demonstrating to me the great value of conversation between student and teacher.

Before we parted that evening, I shared with them a story of another conversation between a teacher and a student that I had read about in philosopher Samuel Hugo Bergman's memoirs.

Bergman recounts the story of Hermann Cohen, the German-Jewish philosopher who drew closer to religious Judaism in his later years. The climax of his life›s work was his book, Religion of Reason Out of the Sources of Judaism. It seems that the philosopher Cohen once entered into a long conversation with an old and old-fashioned Jew who resided in the university town of Marburg with him.

The philosopher attempted to explain to the old Jew his elaborate and highly intellectual theory about the nature of God. The old man listened with the respect due to a university professor. When Cohen was finished with his learned and lengthy discourse, his elderly partner in conversation responded in Yiddish: "I understand everything you said, but something is missing. Vu iz der Bashefer?

Where is the Creator?"

Cohen heard the old Jew›s response, and "got it." His eyes welled up with tears, but he remained speechless.

The opening chapter of this week›s Torah portion assures that everyone who reads it will not make the philosopher›s mistake, but will realize, along with the old-fashioned Jew, that whatever else God may be, He is primarily der Bashefer, the Creator.

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Thoughts on the Weekly Parsha from COVENANT & RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS Former Chief Rabbi of England CONVERSATION

‫לעילוי נשמות‬ ‫פנחס בן יעקב אשר וגולדה בת ישראל דוד אייז ע״ה‬ ‫עזריאל בן אריה לייב ומעניה בת יצחק שרטר ע״ה‬

The Genesis of Love

I

n The Lonely Man of Faith, Rabbi Soloveitchik drew our attention to the fact that there are two accounts of creation. The first is in Genesis 1, the second in Genesis 2-3, and they are significantly different.

In the first, God is called Elokim, in the second, Hashem Elokim. In the first, man and woman are created simultaneously: “male and female He created them.”

In the second, they are created sequentially: first man, then woman. In the first, humans are commanded to “fill the earth and subdue it.” In the second, the first human is placed in the garden “to serve it and preserve it.” In the first, humans are described as “in the image and likeness” of God. In the second, man is created from “the dust of the earth.”

The explanation, says Rabbi Soloveitchik, is that the Torah is describing two aspects of our humanity that he calls respectively, Majestic man and Covenantal man. We are majestic 20

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masters of creation: that is the message of Genesis 1. But we also experience existential loneliness, we seek covenant and connection: that is the message of Genesis 2.

There is, though, another strange duality – a story told in two quite different ways – that has to do not with creation but with human relationships.

There are two different accounts of the way the first man gives a name to the first woman. This is the first: “This time – bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ [ishah] for she was taken from man [ish].”

And this, many verses later, is the second: “And the man called his wife Eve [Chava] because she was the mother of all life.”

The differences between these two accounts are highly consequential. [1] In the first, the man names, not a person, but a class, a category. He uses not a name but a noun. The other person is, for him, simply “woman,” a type, not an individual. In the second, he gives his wife a proper name. She has become, for him, a person in her own right.

[2] In the first, he emphasises their

similarities – she is “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” In the second, he emphasises the difference. She can give birth, he cannot. We can hear this in the very sound of the names. Ish and Ishah sound similar because they are similar.

Adam and Chavah do not sound similar at all.

[3] In the first, it is the woman who is portrayed as dependent: “she was taken from man.” In the second, it is the other way around. Adam, from Adamah, represents mortality: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground (haadamah) since from it you were taken.”

It is Chavah who redeems man from mortality by bringing new life into the world.

[4] The consequences of the two acts of naming are completely different.

After the first comes the sin of eating the forbidden fruit, and the punishment: exile from Eden. After the second, however, we read that God made for the couple, “garments of skin” (“or” is spelled here with the letter ayin). and clothed them. This is a gesture of protection and love. In the school of Rabbi Meir, they read this phrase as “garments of light” (“or” with an aleph).1 God robed them with radiance.

Only after the man has given his wife a proper name do we find the Torah referring to God Himself by His proper name alone, namely Hashem (in Genesis 4). Until then He has been described 1 Bereishit Rabbah 20:21.

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as either Elokim or Hashem Elokim – Elokim being the impersonal aspect of God: God as law, God as power, God as justice. In other words, our relationship to God parallels our relationship to one another. Only when we respect and recognise the uniqueness of another person are we capable of respecting and recognising the uniqueness of God Himself.

God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. God knew the loneliness of the first man before the first man knew it of himself.

Now let us return to the two creation accounts, this time not looking at what they tell us about humanity (as in The Lonely Man of Faith), but simply at what they tell us about creation.

In Genesis 1, God creates things – chemical elements, stars, planets,

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lifeforms, biological species. In Genesis 2-3, He creates people. In the first chapter, He creates systems, in the second chapter He creates relationships.

It is fundamental to the Torah’s view of reality that these things belong to different worlds, distinct narratives, separate stories, alternative ways of seeing reality.

There are differences in tone as well.

In the first, creation involves no effort on the part of God. He simply speaks.

He says “Let there be,” and there was.

In the second, He is actively engaged.

When it comes to the creation of the first human, He does not merely say, “Let us make man in our image according to our likeness.” He performs the creation Himself, like sculptor fashioning an image out of clay: “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

In Genesis 1, God effortlessly summons the universe into being. In Genesis 2, He becomes a gardener: “Now the Lord God planted a garden …”

We wonder why on earth God, who has just created the entire universe, should become a gardener. The Torah gives us the answer, and it is very moving: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” God wanted to give man the dignity of work, of being a creator, not just a creation. And in case the man should view such labour as undignified, God became a gardener Himself to show that this work too is Divine, and in performing it, man becomes God’s partner in the work of creation.

Then comes the extraordinarily poignant verse, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” God feels for the existential isolation of the first man. There was no such moment in the previous chapter. There, God simply creates. Here, God empathises.

He enters into the human mind. He feels what we feel. There is no such moment in any other ancient religious literature. What is radical about biblical monotheism is not just that there is only one God, not just that He is the source of all that exists, but that God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. God knew the loneliness of the first man before the first man knew it of himself.

That is what the second creation account is telling us. Creation of things is relatively easy, creation of relationships is hard. Look at the tender concern God shows for the first human beings in Genesis 2-3. He wants man to have the dignity of work. He wants OU ISRAEL CENTER

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man to know that work itself is Divine.

He gives man the capacity to name the animals. He cares when He senses the onset of loneliness. He creates the first woman. He watches, in exasperation, as the first human couple commit this first sin. Finally, when the man gives his wife a proper name, recognising for the first time that she is different from him and that she can do something he will never do, He clothes them both so that they will not go naked into the world. That is the God, not of creation (Elokim) but of love (Hashem).

Never think of people as things. Never think of people as types: they are individuals.

That is what makes the dual account of the naming of the first woman so significant a parallel to the dual account of God’s creation of the universe. We have to create relationships before we encounter the God of relationship. We have to make space for the otherness of the human other to be able to make space for the otherness of the Divine other. We have to give love before we can receive love.

In Genesis 1, God creates the universe.

Nothing vaster can be imagined, and we keep discovering that the universe is bigger than we thought. In 2016, a study based on three-dimensional modelling of images produced by the Hubble 24

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space telescope concluded that there were between 10 and 20 times as many galaxies as astronomers had previously thought. There are more than a hundred stars for every grain of sand on earth.

And yet, almost in the same breath as it speaks of the panoply of creation, the Torah tells us that God took time to breathe the breath of life into the first human, give him dignified work, enter his loneliness, make him a wife, and robe them both with garments of light when the time came for them to leave Eden and make their way in the world.

The Torah is telling us something very powerful. Never think of people as things. Never think of people as types: they are individuals. Never be content with creating systems: care also about relationships.

I believe that relationships are where our humanity is born and grows, flowers and flourishes. It is by loving people that we learn to love God and feel the fullness of His love for us.

Shabbat Shalom

Covenant and Conversation 5780 is kindly supported by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation in memory of Maurice and Vivienne Wohl z”l.

These weekly teachings from Rabbi Sacks are part of the ‘Covenant & Conversation’ series on the weekly Torah reading. Read more on www.rabbisacks. org.

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RABBI NACHMAN (NEIL) WINKLER PROBING BY Faculty, OU Israel Center THE PROPHETS l

A

s we begin the Torah reading cycle once more we also start a new haftarah cycle. “New”, because, for the last three months (since parashat Mattot, which we read on the final Shabbat of Tammuz), each haftarah (with the exception of parashat Ha’azinu, which we read two weeks ago), reflected the historical significance of that specific time of year.

These were haftarot warning of the approaching Churban, or haftarot of consolation after the Churban; there are those selections that call the people to do Teshuva or ones that reflect a theme of that specific chag. Now, however, we return to haftarot that recall events or concepts that are to be found in the parashat hashavua.

For this week’s parasha of Breishit, the parasha of the creation, Chazal saw it fit to read from Sefer Yishayahu, in the 42nd and 43rd prakim, whose opening pasuk quotes the words of Hashem, and describe Him as “Boreh hashamayim…. roka ha’aretz…” – “Who creates the heavens and….Who stretches out the earth”- words that echo the initial verse of our parasha, “Breishit bara Elokim et hashamayim v’et ha’aretz” – “In the beginning of Hashem’s creating of the heavens and the earth.” Yet, as we have seen so often in these past essays, 26

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there are, inevitably, more than one connection to the parasha that moved our Rabbis to establish a specific section to be read on a specific Torah portion.

And that is true in this case as well.

Rav Yissachar Yaakovson enlightens us by pointing out how the essential verbs used throughout the Torah’s story of creation, “yatzar”, “bara”, and “ ‘asa” are used by the navi Yishayahu to describe G-d’s relationship with Israel. “…ko amar Hashem BORA’acha Yaakov v’YOTZERcha Yisra’el.” The navi tells the people that G-d is THEIR creator- that is, the creator of Israel, of Jacob-the creator of the nation. And, just as Hashem created Adam and sent him out of Gan Eden into “galut” when he sinned, so too, explains Rav Yehuda Shaviv, Yishayahu warns Israel, also a creation of G-d, that they too will be removed from their “Gan Eden”, i.e., Eretz Yisrael, if they continue to sin.

But the parallels do not end there.

The parasha of Breishit does not focus solely on the creation. It also tells the story of the first ten generations, closing with the births of Noach and, subsequently, his three sons. The Torah then goes on to detail the corruption of the succeeding generations until, as the parasha ends, we read of G-d bemoaning the creation of Man and His decision

to destroy mankind. But what was this “corruption” that the Torah describes?

The Rambam writes that they replaced Hashem with His creations and began to worship nature. This was the idolatry of the time. And it was also the idolatry which Yishayahu condemns in this haftarah.

The criticism of those who bow to graven images and claim that the molten idols are their god is precisely the reason why the navi opens his prophecy by describing Hashem as the Creator of all things. Those who worship “things” as divine beings ignore the fact that all the materials used to fashion these “gods” were created by the One Power. Those who understand that G-d is the source of all things, the Creator of all, will not be swayed by man-made objects; those who don’t understand that-will worship “things.”

The early chapters of the Torah set down the basis of all belief. Hashem is THE Creator, without Whom nothing could exist. Our haftarah teaches that lesson to the generations who forgot it.

It speaks to them.

And it speaks to us as well.

Heartfelt condolences to Rabbi Yonatan Kolatch and family On the passing of his sister

NINA AYELEGNE a”h And to her children and siblings OU ISRAEL CENTER

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RABBI SHALOM Kehilla, Nofei HaShemesh ROSNER Rav Maggid Shiur, Daf Yomi, OU.org

Multiple Levels of Truth

T

here is an astounding midrash on the pasuk

"‫"נעשה אדם בצלמינו כדמותינו‬

“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Bereshit 1:26).

Rabbi Simon said: When Hashem wanted to create man, the angels broke into groups, one sect arguing that G-d should go forward with creating man and the other group arguing that G-d should not create man. Hesed (grace) said that man should be created since man engages in acts of hesed. Emet (truth) opposed the creation of man, because man is dishonest and untruthful. Tzedek argued that man should be created because he engages in tzedakah. Shalom argued that man should not be created because he is involved in conflict. On one side was Hesed and Tzedek that encouraged G-d to create man and on the other side was Emes and Shalom that opposed the creation of man.

What did G-d do? He threw Emes to the ground. The angels then questioned G-d’s action and said why are You degrading 28

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one of Your attributes- the midda of Emes? G-d responded “emes me’haaretz tizmach” – Emes (truth) will rise from the earth.

What is the peshat of the midrash?

What is intended by Hashem’s reply that truth will rise from the earth? Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky explains that embedded in this midrash is the key to understanding the makeup of our entire mesorah. In the beginning of time, there was only one type of truth, absolute truth, . Just as in other areas of study, where there is truth and falsehood, it was so with respect to Torah.

At the moment of creation, though, God created another level, or type, of truth -- relative truth, or ‫אמת יחסית‬. On earth, there are many different individuals with divergent views.

It would be impossible for each and every person to obtain absolute truth. Therefore, at that moment, Hashem threw Emes to the earth and declared that truth will rise from the earth. The principle of ‫אלו ואלו‬ ‫לקים חיים‬-‫ דברי א‬was born into the Torah system. This is what was behind Rav Yehoshua’s declaration of ‫( לא בשמים היא‬see B.M. 59b). We believe in multiple layers of truth in each complex, Torah concept, and each opinion has validity in the wide landscape of Torah thought. This is how the Rabbanim can argue with each other to uncover the true meaning of the Torah.

The story is told of a fourth grader, returning home from Yeshiva, and asking his father, “Abba, today we learned about a machlokes between Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai. Which opinion is correct?”

“Both” answers the father. The child, familiar with basic math and the sciences, knows that there is always one correct answer, and wonders about the answer he just received. Both? Over time, he will understand the approach of ‫אלו ואלו דברי‬ ‫לקים חיים‬-‫א‬. Both are seeking to uncover the truth of the Torah. There are multiple levels of truth. Yes, we must paskin like one party in order to retain consistent behavior among all of Klal Yisrael, but it does not make the opposing view any less truthful. So long as the approach is proper and in accordance with halacha, it is no less truthful. [see also introduction to Igrot Moshe].

This midrash is not only crucial for defining the parameters of our halachic mesorah, but also teaches us an important lesson that is applicable in our daily lives. Although there are diametrically opposing opinions among members of society and various hashkafot, we have to respect different opinions and ideologies.

We may feel strongly about our selected path and philosophy, but that does not mean our neighbor’s views are any less truthful. Once we comprehend that there are multiple levels of truth, it will be easier to live in peace and harmony with one another. As we start a new sefer, let us all open a new chapter and learn to respect diverse opinions as being no less truthful than our own beliefs.

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REBBETZIN SHIRA SMILES Faculty, OU Israel Center

Entering Gan Eden

our shuls, and act with the appropriate reverence.

The happiness of a couple is

I

magine standing at the gate to Gan Eden and being invited to enter!

Who would not dream of such an opportunity? Hence, it is difficult to understand Chazal’s understanding that “Vayikach” (Bereishit 2;15), Hashem had to take Adam Harishon with words, to convince him to enter the garden.

predicated on hard work, on

Rabbi Schlesenger in Zot HaTorah notes that Adam perceived the presence of awesome holiness and was therefore reticent to enter. He understood that in such a place each action carries more weight and the associated responsibility is enormous. Such places of intense revelation of the Shechinah demand a different conduct and bearing.

Accordingly, we find a transgression of having steps leading up to the mizbeach in the Mikdash, while one may have them in one’s house. Indeed, it is appropriate to internalize this lesson in

Rabbi Chayim Ben Shneur in Imrei Chen also sees Adam’s hesitation as favorable, albeit from a different angle. Adam held back because he did not want to take anything from this world without having worked for it; he was not seeking free gifts. Hashem therefore reassured him that he was being put into the garden, “leavdah uleshamrah” (ibid), to work it and to keep it. In an age of entitlement, it is important to stay focused with Adam’s mindset. Hashem created the world with the intention for us to apply our

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actively creating a Gan Eden; not with expectations that it will happen by itself.

efforts toward achievement; we are wired with the understanding that life is about diligence and investment. It is unnatural to expect everything to be handed to us on a ‘silver platter’.

Adam’s intuitive reaction is a paradigm for life.

Rav Ezrachi in Birkat Mordechai understands Adam’s reluctance slightly differently. He posits that Gan Eden did not take on its full luster and quality until Adam came into the garden and worked it. It was Adam’s investment of tefillah and Torah that infused the place with its special character. Consequently, Hashem had to entice him to step into a realm that was solely potential and not yet actualized. Indeed, all of us have a ‘Gan Eden’ at our doorsteps that we need to build, form and create.

Western culture views paradise as a utopia where no effort is required.

Judaism, however, understands that anything that is special needs our input and hard work. With this perspective we can appreciate the fifth brachah of the sheva brachot at a wedding. We bless the couple that Hashem should rejoice with them as He rejoiced with His creation in the garden of Eden. The happiness of a couple is predicated on hard work, on actively creating a Gan Eden; not with expectations that it will happen by itself.

Look around, we are surrounded with the potential of Gan Eden; with determination and focused energy we can come to appreciate every aspect of this gift.

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RABBI JUDAH OU-NCSY MISCHEL Mashpiah, Executive Director, Camp HASC Dedicated L'Iluy Nishmas HaChaver Shlomo Michael ben Meir z'l

Bereishit: The Book of Aliveness

T

he Kotzker Rebbe, Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, zy’a, was once visiting a certain town, and as was customary with visiting teachers, he was invited to the local Cheder to spend time with the young Talmidim and to Farheir them, to test them.

When the Kotzker arrived, he learned that the boys were studying Parshas Bereishit, in the Psukim (verses) where the descendents of Adam are listed generation by generation: ‘So-and-so lived for a certain number of years, had certain children, and then died.’

The Rebbe asked one of the boys to read and translate a few of the Psukim.

The student read, “And Sheis lived 105 years and gave birth to Enosh, and it was that all the days of Sheis were 912 years, and Sheis died….”

Shaking 32

his

head,

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the

Rebbe

interrupted, “No, no, that’s not right.

Noch Amol, read again.” The Melamed frowned; surely the boy had read and translated correctly. But the Rebbe insisted, “Zog Noch Amol, read it again.” The boy re-read the Pasuk word for word and translated it according to the Peshat. But the Rebbe shook his head; “Again....”

Another student gave it a shot. He read the Pasuk, gave the simple translation, and without a pause continued with the next Pasuk: “...And Enosh lived 90 years and gave birth to Kenaan, and and it was that all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.” The Rebbe shook his head with disapproval and said, “No, no, Noch Amol.” He repeated his effort at translating the Psukim, but the Kotzker was still displeased.

The Melamed became more and more confused and frustrated.

Yet another boy tried: “...And Kenaan lived 70 years and gave birth to Melalel, and it was that all the days of Kenaan were 910 years, and he died.” Again, the Kotzker vigorously disapproved, and finally the Melamed, full of remorse, apologized for whatever his shortcoming was in the way he was teaching the children. “Please,” he begged, “instruct us in the correct way!

Rebbe, teach us the Peshat!”

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Said the Kotzker, “Azoy, this is the way it should be read: With a booming voice the Rebbe cried out, “And Kenaan LIVED 70 years!”...and at the end of the Pasuk his voice dropped to a whisper: “...and then he died.” In each Pasuk, the Kotzker raised his voice and accentuated the person’s years of “life”, and became barely audible when mentioning his death.

"Parshas Bereishis gives us another opportunity to begin again, to consider what is it about our lives that makes us truly alive, to refocus ourselves on what are we living for..."

“You see,” said the Rebbe, “the emphasis for us Yidden is how we live, what we live for, how alive we are, what we accomplish here in this world.

The amount of time that we were here is only secondary.”

We have just spent the greater part of this month davenning for life: “Zochreinu leChayim, Kasveinu leChayim, Chasmeinu leChayim; remember us for life, inscribe us for life, seal us in the Book of Life…” Parshas Bereishis gives us another opportunity to begin again, to consider what is it about our lives that makes us truly 34

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alive, to refocus ourselves on what are we living for, and commit ourselves to investing in that which gives us vitality.

We should remember that it is not how long we live, but how we live, which is most important.

On the surface, the Generations of Adam & Chava may sound almost like a registry. But the Torah is urging us: the creation of this world, all of existence, is only truly meaningful when we live with purpose, and are fully alive. And thus we begin a new cycle of Torah reading in the new year with freshness, as though we have never heard it before.

VeAtem haDveikim baHashem Elokeichem, Chaim Kulchem haYom, “And you who are cleaving to Hashem your G-d, you are all alive today….”

(Devarim 4:4).

May we be counted among those who are fully engaged in life, with presence, joy, newness and purpose, truly alive.

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SIMCHAT SHMUEL

BY RABBI SAM SHOR

Program Director, OU Israel Center

P

arshat Bereshit contains both the account of Cheit Etz HaDaat, of Adam and Chava eating from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil, as well as the subsequent tragic and very challenging story of Kayin and Hevel, and humanity’s first act of manslaughter. When Hashem informs Kayin that he will be forced to spend his lifetime wandering the earth, Kayin’s reply to Hashem -Gadol Avoni MinsoMy punishment is too much to bear- has been interpreted differently by many of our meforshim.

Rashi sees Kayin’s words as a questionHashem , you assume responsibility for everything in existence, yet my mistake you cannot take responsibility for?

Seforno offers a slightly different take.

Seforno suggests that this is a begrudging admission of guilt. His words might be lacking any semblance of remorse, but at least is expressing that indeed he is deserving of punishment.

According to the Ramban, Kayin’s words are indeed both an admission of guilt as well as a sincere expression of remorse. This seems to be supported by an interesting Midrash as well. The Midrash describes that after Kayin was sentenced to wander the world, he encounters his father,Adam. Adam asks 46

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of Kayin-So what was your sentence?

Kayin replies I did teshuva, and I was therefore able to reach a compromise with Our Creator.

Adam slaps himself on the face and says- this is the power of Teshuva, and I did not even know it. He immediately went and composed the Mizmor Shir L’Yom HaShabbat.

How are we to understand this peculiar Midrash?

The Slonimer Rebbe zy’a explains that the word Shabbat- is also an acronym for the words Shabbat Bo Tashuv. All week long we may feel like we are wandering the world, distant and distracted from Hashem Yotborach, but each and every Shabbat, we are given the gift of reconnecting, of spiritual recharge, of a new beginning. Yehi Ratzon that each of us should appreciate the gift that Shabbat presents to us each and every week as an opportunity to not only refresh, but also to re-calibrate our priorities and moral compass.

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RABBI AARON Editor, Torah Tidbits GOLDSCHEIDER

The Torah Begins with the Letter ‘Bet’

W

hy is the Shabbat in which we read parshat Bereshit known as ‘Shabbat Bereshit’? We do not find this designation applied to any of the other Shabbatot of the year, such as ‘Shabbat Noach’ or ‘Shabbat LechLecha’. The ‘Divrei Yechezkel’, Rabbi Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam zt”l, the Shiniver Rov (1813-1898) explains that following the Yamim Noraim every Jew has done teshuva and has accepted upon themselves some new behavior or a new path. Therefore this Shabbat is a reminder that at this moment he or she is

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starting a new chapter in life. It is Shabbat Bereshit, a Shabbat of a new beginning (Shvilei Pinchas, Parshat Pinchas 5776).

In the spirit of ‘Shabbat Bereshit’, it is an honor to begin writing a new collection of Torah thoughts based on the teachings of the Chassidic masters. My hope is that these insights and meditations will adequately capture the special way the Chassidic masters extrapolated the Torah and provide us with added inspiration and a deeper yearning for the Holy One and the Torah.

With the start of the new cycle of Torah readings, we are to call to mind that the Holy One Blessed Be He chose to begin the Torah with the virtue of humility.

This idea can be traced to a midrash in which the Sages teach that Hashem began the Torah with the verse “Bereshit Barah Elokim’ in order to reveal the degree of Hashem’s humility (Bershit Raba 1:12). In

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direct contrast to the practice of human kings, the Master of the World did not begin the Torah with his own name, ‘Elokim’. In contrast to human beings who mention their names before their creations and accomplishments, the Holy One mentions His creations first, ’Bereshit bara’, and only afterwards His name, ‘Elokim.’

The ‘bet’, the second letter alludes to His humility; Hashem, so to speak, bypasses all appellations. This serves as a lesson to mankind. Humility must be the starting point in our own character refinement and in our engagement with the world (Shvilei Pinchas, Bereshit 5776).

So important is the quality of humility is in the eyes of Hashem that He emphasized this trait in both His first and last utterance in the creation story.

The first utterance ‘Bereshit bara Elokim’ revealed His humility. In a similar fashion, He reveals His humility in the words ‘na’ase adam’ - “let us make man” - politely consulting with the angels in Heaven when creating the first human being (Rashi, Bereshit 1:26).

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HaRav Pinchas Friedman shlit”a of Belz, one of the premier contemporary teachers of Chassidus, offers an insight based on the Zohar Chadash (Bereshit 10): The word Bereshit can also be read as two words - ‘Bet Reishit’, meaning, ‘the letter beit - reishit - comes first.’

Hashem chose to begin the Torah with the letter bet in place of the aleph. An ‫א‬- aleph would have alluded to God and His oneness (‘aleph’ equals the number one) or to His dominance (aleph, similar to the phrase, ‘Alupho shel olam’, ‘Master of the world’). The ‘bet’, the second letter alludes to His humility; Hashem, so to speak, bypasses all appellations.

This serves as a lesson to mankind.

Humility must be the starting point in our own character refinement and in our engagement with the world (Shvilei Pinchas, Bereshit 5776).

There is a beautiful hidden allusion presented by the ‘Bnei Yissaschar’, Rabbi Tzvi Elemelech of Dinov (1783-1841), regarding the opening words of the Torah (Bnei Yissaschar Iyar 3,1): At the beginning of the Torah, there are thirty two (‫לב‬-lamed bet) words preceding the first time the word ‫טוב‬-tov appears in the Torah .The Rebbe suggested that this illustrates that lev tov ,a good heart is the very foundation and embodiment of all the positive character traits which man is to pursue.

The mishnah in Pirkei Avot identifies the character trait of a ‘lev tov’ to be the most noble of all qualities in man: “Go out and find the best path a person should follow...Rabbi Elazar says: A good heart.”

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(Avot 2:9). The classic commentary on Pirkei Avot, ‘Midrash Shmuel’ defines a ‘lev tov’ as one who possess the trait of humility, one who is not angered when he is wronged by others; a modest and unpretentious personality allows one to be forgiving and sympathetic of others.

We discover a most beautiful theme woven into the fabric Chassidic thought: Attaining a high degree of humility is essential and is achievable for man.

Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg (17261778) was one of the great early Chassidic Rebbes. He once arrived in a city where he was greeted by a throng of his followers.

Before meeting the crowd, he asked for a room where he could have a few minutes of solitude. One of the chassidim wondered what the master was doing in solitude. Putting his ear to the door, he

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heard the master say, “Welcome to our city honorable rabbi. It is our great privilege to have you here. Thank you for coming holy Tzadik” and other such expressions of admiration. The chassid later asked Rebbe Shmelke to enlighten him regarding this strange practice. “It is simple” the Rebbe said. “I anticipated what my chassidim would say to me. I therefore said it to myself first, and it sounded so foolish, that when later they said it to me, it appeared equally ridiculous.” (‘Not Just Stories’, by Rabbi Abraham Twerski, p. 300) Two great masters, Rabbi Zusya and his brother Rabbi Elimelech, were once discussing the subject of humility. Rebbe Elimelech said, “If a man contemplates the greatness of the Creator, he will arrive at true humility.” But Rebbe Zusya said, “No! A man must begin by being truly humble.

Only then will he recognize the greatness of his Creator.” They asked their teacher, the Magid of Mezeritch (1700-1772), who was right. He decided it in this way. “These and those are the words of the living God. But the inner grace is his who begins with himself, and not with the Creator.” (‘Tales of the Chassidim’, Book 1, Martin Buber p.

243).

We discover a most beautiful theme woven into the fabric Chassidic thought: Attaining a high degree of humility is essential and is achievable for man. It is in reach when man looks inward and honestly evaluates his standing and place in the world. In our efforts to attain nobility of character, the trait of humility is an indispensible building block toward achieving this magnificent goal.

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DIVREI MENACHEM

BY MENACHEM PERSOFF

Special Projects Consultant, OU Israel Center mpersoff@ou.org

P

arshat Bereishit has arrived, and we are struck anew with awe at the Creation. When we read of black holes, anti-matter, the Big Bang theory, the radiation epoch, cosmic rays, and so on, we cannot but be mesmerized by the extent of processes that made up the creation of our universe and the millions of galaxies that fill it.

We cannot even begin to fathom the enormity of Ma’aseh Bereishit.

We say in our prayers, “Ma Rabu Ma’asecha!” – ‘How extensive are Your deeds!’ That is probably the most understated under-statement ever made!

We cannot even begin to fathom the enormity of Ma’aseh Bereishit. We are only beginning to understand the origins of matter, energy, space, and time.

Perhaps Einstein’s theory of relativity, demonstrating a connection between energy, matter, and the speed of light, is more than an approach that forms the basis of nuclear energy. It demonstrates the connection between the material and the spiritual; it tells us, for instance, that energy can be converted into matter.

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It helps us to understand that in His wisdom, Hashem, who is the Infinite Source of everything, can create a physical world. Our world is designated “Olam,” from the Hebrew root word for ‘disappearance’ because through the dissolution of the supernal light, our domain became a physical entity.

While scientists might claim that the creation of the universe is “outside the scope of presently known laws of physics,” Prof. Nathan Aviezer discerns that when Hashem declared “Let there be light,” He created a primeval fireball, the Big Bang. It signaled the creation of the universe consisting of a mixture of plasma and light, and in tandem with what is written in the Torah, the light separated from the dark plasma to shine freely throughout space (as radiation).

Kabbalistic-minded individuals (who might also follow the later progression of particles into the elements that make up our world), may yet prefer to contemplate on the conception that G-d created the universe because He “desired to have a dwelling in the lower realms.”

Shabbat Shalom!

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FROM THE VIRTUAL DESK OF THE

RAV DANIEL MANN

OU VEBBE REBBE

Personal Thanks in Shemoneh Esrei Question: Following our grandchild’s birth, I have been adding personal thanks to HaShem in “Modim.” Is it appropriate to do so on Shabbat?

Answer: We will focus mainly on your assumption – that one may add personal thanks in Modim. There is little in the poskim on this specific question, but we can learn from many general relevant sources (find article

by R. Chanan Ariel).

Gemarot say that one may add personal requests in Shemoneh Esrei’s middle berachot, especially Shema Koleinu (Avoda Zara 8a; see Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 119:1) but not during the first three and last three berachot (Berachot 34a; see Shulchan Aruch, OC 112:1). The latter are reserved for praise and thanks, respectively.

This implies that it is fine to add praises and thanks in those places. In fact, in allowing making communal requests 56

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during the berachot, Rabbeinu Tam (cited by Tur, OC 112) says that asking for the needs of the masses is a praise to Hashem, which implies that actual praise is certainly fine.

However, praises also require caution. The gemara (Berachot 34b; see Shulchan Aruch, OC 113:9) criticizes those who go beyond the set praises of Hashem because they imply that they have mentioned all of Hashem’s greatness. It seems implausible that it could always be forbidden to praise and/or thank Hashem, so when is it?

The Beit Yosef (OC 113) cites the Ra’ah and Rabbeinu Yona as saying that one may not add adjectives describing Hashem but may add mention of good things He did. Rabbeinu Yona also distinguishes between things said at the end of berachot and those in the middle of berachot. The latter stand alone and are permitted. It is unclear from the corresponding Shulchan Aruch if he accepts these distinctions.

There is a machloket in the sources and minhagim about adding piyutim to tefilla at certain times. The Shulchan Aruch (OC 68:1) opposes it, apparently because it is an interruption, changes the berachot’s length, and encourages talking (see Tur ad loc.). The Rama supports it, but the minhag nowadays is

The Orthodox Union - via its website - fields questions of all types in areas of kashrut, Jewish law and values. Some of them are answered by Eretz Hemdah, the Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, headed by Rav Yosef Carmel and Rav Moshe Ehrenreich, founded by HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt”l, to prepare rabbanim and dayanim to serve the National Religious community in Israel and abroad. Ask the Rabbi is a joint venture of the OU, Yerushalayim Network, Eretz Hemdah... and OU Israel’s Torah Tidbits.

to do so only on Yamim Noraim. There was also controversy about Aseret Y’mei Teshuva additions (Zochreinu, etc.) to tefilla (see Beit Yosef, OC 112), and there the minhag is to say them. One might distinguish, though, between set sayings that are accepted by Klal Yisrael and personal ones.

We have written (Living the Halachic Process, vol. II, A-1) that it is permitted and positive to thank Hashem but that it can be problematic to do so in a manner that makes it appear like a set beracha.

Attaching appropriate statements to an existing beracha, on the one hand, makes it unlikely for there to be an issue of beracha l’vatatala (see Mishna Berura 108:38). On the other hand, changes in the content can be more problematic (See Berachot 40b; Shut HaRambam 254).

We summarize and suggest as follows. Since the lack of sources and apparent minhag is to not add personal thanks during Modim, then even though it is probably halachically permitted, we do not suggest it when other options exist. Before Elokai Netzor and during Shema Koleinu, one can say anything appropriate, and while that is classically for requests, it should be fine to thank Hashem as well.

Realize that even the middle, “request”

berachot include praise. Therefore, the following example of an addition would seem ideal: “Bless my grandchild, for whose birth I am so grateful to You, with a wonderful life.” (See a similar idea in Yaskil Avdi, vol. VIII, p. 169.)

Regarding Shabbat, there are two reasons for requests, such as the middle berachot of Shemoneh Esrei. The Yerushalmi (Shabbat 15:3) says that one should not make personal requests on a day that one must not be focused on his needs. The gemara (Berachot 21b) says that we do not want the toil of a long tefilla. Apparently, some combination of the two ideas is true. [We will discuss the issue next week.] If you want to give only thanks in Modim or before Elokai Netzor, this is not a problem on Shabbat. Incorporating a request (see above) is likely inappropriate on Shabbat.

Having a dispute?

For a Din Torah in English or Hebrew contact ‘Eretz Hemdah - Gazit’ Rabbinical Court: 077215-8-215 • fax: (02) 537-9626 beitdin@eretzhemdah.org OU ISRAEL CENTER

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Puah for Fertility and RABBI GIDEON Machon Gynecology in Accordance with Halacha WEITZMAN

Shabbat and Illness

I

n this week’s Parshah the Torah presents the concept of Shabbat as the day on which the Creator rested.

(See Bereishit 2:1-3) Since this is the day of rest it later became the day of rest for the Jewish people, as recorded in the Ten Commandments. (See Shemot 20:8)

“And you shall live through them and not die due to them.”

Shabbat has supreme importance in Jewish law and the Jerusalem Talmud

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(Nedarim 3:9) teaches that Shabbat is considered on the same level as all of the mitzvot of the Torah. This principle appears in the Torah, the Prophets and the Ketuvim. The Talmud (Shabbat 118b) states that if one observes the laws of Shabbat they are forgiven for all transgressions even idolatry.

On the other hand, Shabbat is pushed off in cases of danger to life, as the Gemara (Yoma 85b) says “and you shall live through them and not die due to them.” But this is only in a case where there is possible danger to life, in any other case Shabbat cannot be broken. The Talmud (Berachot 36a) even states that a person who has a sore throat cannot drink oil on Shabbat as this is considered medication. Since a sore throat is not considered an illness no medication can be taken on Shabbat.

Rashi explains the rationale behind this prohibition; in the past medication was

ground and this grinding is forbidden on Shabbat. As such as medication is not permitted on Shabbat.

What is the halachah regarding a couple experiencing infertility? Can they take medication on Shabbat? Can they undergo fertility treatment on Shabbat? Is there is a difference if the doctor is Jewish or a gentile?

Since almost all fertility treatments take several days this is an extremely common question. Some years ago we posed a list of questions regarding fertility on Shabbat to a number of poskim and over the next few weeks we will present a review of their answers.

Rabbi Yosef Karo (Beit Yosef, Orach Chayim 328) in his introduction to the laws of medical treatment and Shabbat presents four levels of illness. The lowest level is called michush beâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;alma, meaning someone who has slight discomfort but who is not ill, such as someone with a slight headache or sore throat. The highest level of illness is called choleh sheyesh bo sakanah, a person who is dangerously ill. In between these two extremes are two categories; choleh sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ein bo sakanah, someone who is ill but not in danger, and sakanat eivar, a case in which there is danger to a limb but the person is not in danger.

More on this next week.

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TORAH VEHA'ARETZ RABBI MOSHE BLOOM INSTITUTE BY www.toraland.org.il/en

Sprouting Seeds in Your House for Consumption

O

ften people sprout different types of seeds in their kitchens and eat them after sprouting. Generally, various types of legumes (such as mung beans or chickpeas) and seeds (lettuce seeds, wheat berries, etc.) are used. Two sprouting methods are typically employed: (1) Wetting the seeds in a mesh utensil, while the remaining moisture triggers the sprouting process; or (2) Soaking the seeds in water until the seeds sprout.

Seeds used for sprouting Many seeds are eaten whether sprouted or not sprouted, such as garbanzo beans and wheat berries. Terumot and ma’aserot should be separated from these seeds before sprouting them.

Seeds that can be eaten only after sprouting, such as radish or alfalfa, do not

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require separating terumot and ma’aserot before sprouting.

Requirement to separate terumot and ma’aserot from sprouts The general ruling is that one is not required to separate terumot and ma’aserot from sprouts that sprouted indoors. However, some (including Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu) are stringent and separate terumot and ma’aserot without a blessing.

Kila’im Kila’im, the injunction against planting and growing seed mixtures of different types, also applies to growing sprouts indoors. This is so since the intention is that the mixed seeds sprout together.

About sprouts and Shabbat - next week.

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RABBI BEREL WEIN Rav, Beit Knesset Hanassi, Jerusalem

T

he Garden of Eden is portrayed for us as being the perfect place.

Mortality had not yet entered the way of the world and our aged father and mother lived in an environment where everything was provided; food, shelter and freedom from external dangers. Yet, in this most idyllic of situations – one that we cannot begin to contemplate or imagine – temptation lurked even in this setting.

Humans are the union of the body and soul, and as such, perfection cannot be achieved. Humans are destined to always be unsatisfied. We desire food and pleasures that we do not need, and in fact are not beneficial to us, but we want them just because we haven’t acquired them yet. Once having achieved our goal and desire, so to speak, we are always disappointed and look to find another area of

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seeming pleasure, in order to satisfy our unquenchable thirst to attain more..

There was a famous comedic skit that was popular in the United States many decades ago about a very wealthy man who built an enormous mansion with many more rooms that he could ever populate or use.

Nevertheless, he invited all his friends to the housewarming dedication of his mansion and gave them all a tour of this enormous building. As everyone was showering compliments upon him for having created this monstrosity, he was heard to remark: “This is nothing!

Wait to you see the next house that I am going to build for myself.” His Garden of Eden was certainly still not enough.

The rabbis of the Mishnah accurately observed that the more one has, the

more worries one acquires. Though Judaism does not preach poverty or asceticism, it does emphasize moderation and for satisfaction not to be found in material items and pleasures alone. When Adam and Eve were driven from the perfect world that they had originally inhabited and were sent out into the dangerous and less-than-perfect world that we now inhabit, they never lost the original human drive that brought about their expulsion from that perfect world.

Wise men and women throughout the ages have always defined the struggles of society, its wars and decisions, its lack of fairness and the presence of so much evil, as being the futile attempt of humans to try and batter down the gates of that garden and reenter and create a perfect world. The obvious inability of human beings to do so only adds frustration and disappointment. It destroys societies and political systems and destabilizes seemingly great and powerful countries and nations.

But there is an inner voice that reminds us that we do have within us a piece of that perfect world, a system of morality and human goodness, kindness and obedience to the moral code that our Creator has fashioned for us. This enables us to survive and thrive in the imperfect world in which we now live.

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein OU ISRAEL CENTER

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MEDINA & RABBI SHIMSHON HAKOHEN NADEL HALACHA BY Mara D'atra, Kehilat Zichron Yosef, Har Nof

Bereishit & the ‘Start-Up Nation’

T

he modern State of Israel has been called the ‘Start-Up Nation.’ In the 2009 New York Times bestseller by the same name, authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer attempt to explain how against all odds, the State of Israel a young country facing tremendous challenges - has more start-ups, R&D, and a larger venture capital industry per capita than any other country in the world. At the time the book was published, 63 Israeli companies were listed on the NASDAQ, more companies than any other foreign country!

Today, Israel is at the forefront

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of innovation in hi-tech, energy, agriculture, engineering, and research in so many fields of science and medicine.

People often joke that if the BDS movement really took themselves seriously, its supporters would have to give up much of the technology and medicine they are currently benefiting from, as most likely some part of it was developed here in Israel!

How is little Israel is at the forefront of so much innovation, technology, and medicine?

I believe the answer is found in the story of the creation of the world.

The first commandment to humanity is: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea,

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and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Bereishit 1:28).

What does it mean to “subdue it”?

Ramban (ad Loc.) explains: “And subdue it - He gave them the power and dominion on the earth to do as they wish with animals, vermin, and all who creep on the dust of the earth; And to build, and to uproot that which is planted, and to hew copper from its mountains, and the like.”

According to Ramban, man is given control and dominion over the world, and charged with the task of utilizing it’s resources for his benefit.

But lest he destroy the world and deplete its resources, Hashem places man in the garden “to work it and to protect it” (Bereishit 2:15). This informs our responsibility to our world, and to our fellow man.

The first Chapter of Bereishit teaches man to create, and in doing so, he emulates his Creator. The second Chapter of Bereishit teaches man responsibility. In his famous monograph, “The Lonely Man of Faith,” Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik draws on these two different accounts of creation and argues that ‘the man of faith’ must integrate both of these ideals as he seeks to serve Hashem.

Another theme in the thought of Rav Soloveitchik is that Hashem left just a little bit of His world unfinished; left for us to complete. And in doing so, 66

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we become a partner with Hashem in the act of creation. In “Halakhic Man,” Rav Soloveitchik writes, “When man, the crowning glory of the cosmos, approaches the world, he finds his task at hand - the task of creation. He must stand on guard over the pure, clear existence, repair the defects in the cosmos, and replenish the ‘privation’ in being. Man, the creature, is commanded to become a partner with the Creator in the renewal of the cosmos; complete and ultimate creation - this is the deepest desire of the Jewish People.”

Being a contributing member of society is such an important value in Judaism, the Talmud explains that a professional gambler is invalid as a witness because he does not contribute to the ‘welfare of the world’ (Sanhedrin 24b; Rambam, Hilchot Eidut 10:4; Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 34:16).

As Jews, contributing to humanity is part of the very fiber of our being. It’s the fabric of who we are. It’s encoded in our DNA. It is why the Jewish People - while making up only 0.2% of the world’s total population - make up 22.5% of all Nobel Prize laureates. And in some fields more than 22.5%! (36.71% in economics, 26.21% of physics, 25.23% in medicine).

And here in the State of Israel - the ‘Start-Up Nation’ - it is these very ideas and ideals which inspire us to innovate, create, and better mankind. The secret to our success is found in this week’s Torah portion!

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is a mammal but it lives and swims in the water like a fish. Was it created on the fifth or the sixth day? On one level - who knows?

What difference does it make? But there are

light switches are for OR and CHOSHECH, from day one • ocean and cloud are the separation of the upper waters and the lower waters - second day • down: plant life of third day • left: sun, moon, stars of fourth day • down: bugs, birds, fish, sea creatures of fifth day • right: animals, humans - sixth day • candlesticks for Shabbat • candy cane for KAYIN (Cain) • bell with A is for Hevel (Abel) • Terem logo if for the word describing the world before (TEREM) before humans were created • hamantash for a remez (hint) in the Torah for Haman - G-d asked Adam, HAMIN ha’eitz... did you eate from the tree that I told you not too. This is not just a play on words HAMIN-HAMAN. Haman’s statement to his family was that even though he had wealth and position, and power - V’CHOL ZEH EINENU SHOVEH LI... none of that is worth anything when I see Mordechai the Jew sitting there and not bowing to me. This was the impression we get from Adam and Chava, that they had everything they needed and wanted, but nothing seemed worth it if they couldn’t eat the forbidden fruit • Freud in the uppr-right is for G-d’s statement that mankind essentially bad from his youth • the flute at the bottom stands for the first inventions of musical instruments and the first use of metal implements • the question mark between the dolphin and the bat, asks two similar questions: The dolphin 68

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halachic ramifications to this quest because there are differences between the carcass of a fish and a mammal. So too with the bloods of each. Tum’a and Tahara issues.

On what day was a bat created? Fifth day with the flying creatures usually known as birds, or on the sixth day with mammals, which a bat is? • Havdala set is for the times the Torah says VAYAVDEIL, as in, and G-d distinguished beteewn Light and Dark, and others. Also, according to our Tradition, the gift/discovery of fire was on the first Motza’ei Shabbat, Adam and Chava having been expelled from Gan Eden on the day they were created. We use fire for havdala partially because of that gift to mankind.

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BY RABBI EPHRAIM SPRECHER Faculty, OU Israel Center

Did G-d “NEED” Creation?

T

hroughout the act of Creation, after each major step such as the creation of light, water and vegetation, the Torah tells us that va-yar Elohim KI TOV, “and G-d saw that it was good.” Taken literally, these passages strike us as grossly anthropomorphic, as if the Creator of the universe is a Cosmic Artist who, after every significant addition to His composition, steps back to admire His masterpiece. But Onkelos and Rambam teach that G-d has no human needs or emotions. What, then, does it mean when the Torah tells us “G-d saw it was good ? “

An amazing answer is provided by R’ Yaacov Zevi Meklenberg (in his Hakatev v’haKabbalah). The word VAYAR, is usually translated as “He saw,” is, in Hebrew, in the causative (hifil), which can therefore be translated as “He made seen” or “He brought into existence”.

Thus, Gd said (i.e,. He willed), “let there be light”, and Va-yar Elokim. He brought this light into being. He made it visible.

So, upon willing the existence of the 70

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land, the waters, the luminaries, the vegetation, and the animals, He made them visible. Gd called them ALL into existence.

But why did He do so? The answer is: Ki tov, because He is good! Not “that it was good,” but because He, G-d, is all good. It is the goodness of G-d, NOT of the world, that the Torah is teaching us. Gd’s creativity is a function of His goodness, for goodness is givingness.

To be good is to do good.

Thus, to give of oneself is to be good, and to be good is to be creative, and to be creative is to be G-dlike.

The Kabbalah taught this secret, too.

One of the Sephirot (the ten stages of Divine self-revelation) is Chessed– love and goodness - and this is identified with HITPASHTUT, the overflow, the emanation, of the existence from Gd. “Gd creates” means He gives of Himself, and this He does KI TOV, because He is good, because He is the essence of Chessed. Gd = Good!

The most valuable expression of human creativity must likewise be that of goodness-givingness. To be good is to do good. Thus, to give of oneself is to be good, and to be good is to be creative, and to be creative is to be Gdlike. “In the beginning, Gd created” ultimately means, “In the first place, man must do good by giving of himself”, like Gd gave of Himself.

The Baal Hatanya taught that the ideal mitzvah is TZEDAKA (the giving of charity), for it is the act in which man most closely imitates Gd. Just as Gd’s most significant act, creation, is an act of goodness by virtue of His giving (existence), so the apex of man’s Gdlikeness is his goodness expressed in giving – whether charity or time or love or compassion. A good person, like the good Gd, is a giving being!

no other human being to whom to extend his compassion and his assistance, how shall man be good?

Goodness, as the act of giving, requires another human being to express itself.

Therefore, Eve was created so that two human beings should now have each other to inspire and express the divinehuman attribute of TOV (goodness), by giving to each other.

Marriage is the maximum potential for the most intimate act of giving. To rephrase the famous words of President Kennedy, “Ask not what your spouse can do for you, ask what you can do for your spouse.” Thus, the act of marital goodness is truly creative, imitating Gd’s Creation of the world.

This insight to the meaning of TOV provides us with a new understanding of the Biblical view of marriage. Adam finds himself in Eden, yet “it is not good that man should be alone” (Bereshis 2:18).

The companionship of man and woman is good, loneliness and solitude are not. But this divine judgement of the undesirability of celibacy is not merely a question of the welfare of the male of the species, that it is better for him psychologically and existentially to be married.

It is ALSO an ethical judgement in terms of our definition of TOV, when man is alone he cannot be “good”, he has no one upon whom to shower his love and affection, no one to whom to give and with whom to share his gifts. With no wife to love, no family to provide for, and OU ISRAEL CENTER

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THE DAILY BY SIVAN RAHAV-MEIR PORTION

The Tree Should Also Be Tasty ‫ֶרע ֵעץ‬ ַ ‫יע ז‬ ַ ‫ׂב ַמ ְז ִר‬ ‫ׁשא ֵע ֶש‬ ֶ ‫ׁשא ָה ָא ֶרץ ֶּד‬ ֵ ‫ּאמר ֱאלֹקים ַּת ְד‬ ֶ ֹ‫"ַוי‬ ‫ַתו ֵֹצא‬ ּ ‫ ו‬.‫ַרעוֹ בוֹ ַעל ָה ָא ֶרץ ַוי ְִהי ֵכן‬ ְ ‫ֲשר ז‬ ׁ ֶ ‫ׂה ְּפ ִרי ְל ִמינוֹ א‬ ‫ְּפ ִרי ע ֶֹש‬ ".‫ׂה ְּפ ִרי‬ ‫ְעץ ע ֶֹש‬ ֵ ‫ֶרע ְל ִמינֵה ּו ו‬ ַ ‫יע ז‬ ַ ‫ׂב ַמ ְז ִר‬ ‫ׁשא ֵע ֶש‬ ֶ ‫ָה ָא ֶרץ ֶּד‬ And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, seed-yielding herbs and fruit trees producing fruit according to its kind in which its seed is found, on the earth,” and it was so. And the earth gave forth vegetation, seed-yielding herbs according to its kind, and trees producing fruit, in which its seed is found, according to its kind.

(Gen. 1:11–12) We tend to concentrate on achieving goals and belittle the means used to

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achieve them. If after having plowed his field, sown the seeds, and worked the land for an entire year a farmer receives a low yield on his investment because of a drought, he will consider the year to have been unsuccessful. Our sages point out a shift in the wording in the above verses. God first wishes to create “fruit trees producing fruit” but the earth only gave forth “trees producing fruit.” The tree is just a tree, and not a fruit. Since Creation, there has always been a distinction between working and the fruits of one’s achievement, between toiling and the sweet fruits of success.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook explains: At the beginning of Creation it was intended that the tree should have the same taste as the fruit. But the earthly existence brought it about that only the taste of the fruit, the final coming to

fruition, the primary goal, is experienced in its pleasure and splendor. The earth sinned, denied its essence, limited its strength, followed trends and purposes, did not give all its hidden strength so that the taste of the tree could be like the taste of its fruit.

A large part of our lives can be compared to a tree preparing to produce fruit.

In an ideal world, the tree would be as tasty as the fruit. Yet in our physical world, the tree itself has no taste, and we only enjoy the fruit. Although we plant a tree for the fruit it will eventually produce, the means for achieving this goal are found in the roots, trunk, branches, and leaves, which make up the major part of this organism. A large part of our lives can be compared to a tree preparing to produce fruit. We study for a degree in order to work in our profession, in order to make a living, in order to buy food, in order to live. We spend most of our time working, eating, and sleeping. The creation of the world presents us with a utopian existence in which the sweet taste of hard work and effort reminds us that the means also serve a purpose.

Sivan Rahav Meir is an Israeli journalist and lecturer who is currently an emissary of the World Mizrachi Movement in the United States.

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MIDEI CHODESH RABBI SHMUEL GOLDIN B'CHADSHO BY Faculty, OU Israel

Ordinary or Extraordinary?

T

he transition could not be more abrupt…

Behind us, the month of Tishrei, the busiest, most eventful, ritually richest month of the entire year.

Before us, the month of Cheshvan, exceptional only in its “ordinariness.”

Nothing happens in Cheshvan; no festivals, no fasts, no unique mitzvot.

Cheshvan is the only month of the year with nothing “special” of its own; the only month of the year marked by total ritual silence.

Why the stark contrast? Why does Jewish tradition mandate a calendar “roller coaster” as our year begins? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to follow the majestic Yamim Noraim, the vibrant Festival of Sukkot, the joyous ecstasy of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, with at least some “ritual afterwords”- with at least some unique observances designed to carry the messages of these days forward? As we begin our year, the silence of Cheshvan seems deafening.

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our

calendar makes complete sense…

As we move away from the rarefied atmosphere of the Chagim, Cheshvan provides the one missing piece. Cheshvan confronts us with the only challenge that Tishrei could not issue: the challenge of transforming the “ordinary” into the “extraordinary.”

Tekiat Shofar will remind me that sometimes words can be unnecessary, meaningless, even hurtful; that, at times, the most dramatic communication can be the silent sharing that comes from the heart.

Cheshvan silently asks us: Will you make my quiet days count? Will you convert commitment into concrete action when the drama disappears? Will the lessons of the Tishrei’s events continue to teach you? Will you make my ordinary days extraordinary?

Consider the following analogy, I have always felt that the most significant moment of the Revelation at Sinai was

the moment of our departure from the mountain. At that instant, God issues a challenge: If you leave this site carrying the Torah with you, then all that has occurred at Sinai will have been proven worthwhile.

In contrast, if you leave (in the words that your sages will one day use) “as a child running away from school,” then you will have experienced a powerful “sound and light show,” but little else.

Similarly, Cheshvan determines the value of Tishrei. Our yearly revelatory experience in God’s presence is over. Tekiat Shofar, Kol Nidrei, Unetaneh Tokef, Neila, Yeshiva Ba’Sukka, Na’anuim, Hakafot, and so much more, are now events of the past.

The very value of these events, however, will now be determined in the quiet days of Cheshvan. Will the lessons learned and the perspective gained during the extraordinary moments of Tishrei shape the ordinary days of Cheshvan and beyond in tangible ways?

While the answer to this question will be deeply personal for each of us, allow me to share, by way of example, some of the lessons that I am considering this year for Cheshvan and beyond…

I hope that the wordless plea of Tekiat Shofar will remind me that sometimes words can be unnecessary, meaningless, even hurtful; that, at times, the most dramatic communication can be the silent sharing that comes from the heart.

Our tradition shows great wisdom, for example, when it mandates that, during a “shiva visit,” the visitor should initially remain silent, allowing the mourner to OU ISRAEL CENTER

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speak first. And if the mourner does not speak, neither should we.

Too often, uncomfortable with silence, we attempt to fill the vacuum with wordswhen silence can be the most comforting communication of all.1 I hope that the power of Kol Nidrei will further remind me that words, once spoken, have their own life and independent power.

Our preoccupation with the nullification of vows before2 and at the onset of the holiest day of our year is telling. We desperately desire, it seems, to “take back” at least those wrongful words that we legally can.

What, however, about the words that we cannot nullify? Words spoken in anger, upset and unfeeling haste. Words that we regret later, in fact sometimes right after they are spoken.

Too late! Those words have already found their mark. No apology or expression of regret can totally erase their utterance.

How much better we would all be if we think before we speak.

1 I have tempted, over the years of my rabbinate to compile an instructional list of “hurtful things said during shiva visits, with the best of intentions.” Sometimes, there is really nothing consoling to say -and words, spoken without thought, only increase the pain.

2 Here I refer to the practice of Hatarat Nedarim, the nullification of vows, that is performed during the days from Erev Rosh Hashana until Erev Yom Kippur.

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I hope that the emotions that washed over me at an unexpected moment on Yom Kippur will remind me that not everything can be planned; that sometimes the most powerful experiences are the ones that are unanticipated.

I am often struck by the difference between my memories and those of my children. Experiences that I thought would be most powerful for them are often not, while the unexpected moments are the ones they recall.

The impact of carefully planned trips, of well laid out itineraries, sometimes pales in their minds to the spontaneous “pickup game “on the street, to the story told on the couch by a parent or grandparent.

This reality gives lie to the popular argument: I’m too busy to be around much, but I make sure to spend ‘quality time’ to my children and grandchildren.

What our children really need is not ‘quality time,’ but ‘as much time as we can give them’- because, we can never really know the moments they will remember.

These are a few of the thoughts that course through my mind as I remember the rich days of Tishrei behind us and consider the silent days of Cheshvan ahead. For I firmly believe that, by carrying Tishrei’s lessons with us, we can each make the ordinary days of Cheshvan, and those of the entire year, extraordinary.

Rabbi Shmuel Goldin’s Dvar Torah will be featured each month marking the new Hebrew month on Shabbat Mevarchim HaChodesh

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